Daily Devotionals for December 18, 2026

I heard, as it were, the voice of a great multitude. . . saying, Hallelujah! For the Lord God omnipotent RElGNETH" (Rev. 19:6).

Once we become aware that our sovereign Father is reigning and is in full control, our faith becomes a set attitude and we are able to honor Him by resting in His faithfulness under all...

"As birds flying, so will the LORD of hosts defend Jerusalem." Isaiah 31:5

With hurrying wing the mother bird hastens up to the protection of her young. She wastes no time upon the road when coming to supply them with food or guard them from danger. Thus as on eagle's wings will the LORD come for the defense of His chosen; yea, He will ride upon the wings of the wind.

With outspread wing the mother covers her little ones in...

The doctrine of the divine indwelling is one of the most important in the New Testament, and its meaning for the individual Christian is precious beyond all description. To neglect it is to suffer serious loss. The apostle Paul prayed for the Ephesian Christians that Christ might dwell in their hearts by faith. Surely it takes faith of a more than average vitality to grasp the full implications of this great truth. Two facts join to make the doctrine difficult to accept: the supreme...

Sinking times are praying times with the Lord's servants. Peter neglected prayer at starting upon his venturous journey, but when he began to sink his danger made him a suppliant, and his cry though late was not too late. In our hours of bodily pain and mental anguish, we find ourselves as naturally driven to prayer as the wreck is driven upon the shore by the waves. The fox hies to its hole for protection; the bird flies to the wood for shelter; and even so the tried believer hastens to...

Here is the Christian's grand RULE of action, the commandments of his dear Saviour. Jesus commands us because He loves us; because He desires our present welfare; because He will prove the sincerity of our profession; and because He approves of the obedience of faith.

He commands us to imitate Himself; He is our great pattern and example; and we should endeavour to imitate Him in His Spirit, and design, and actions. He commands us to believe Him, profess Him, obey Him, and continue in...

One thing taught throughout the Bible, and particularly in the New Testament, is that the Christian life is a progression, a journey of the redeemed soul toward God.

Another is that Satan stands to resist every step and to hinder the journey in every way possible. To advance against his shrewd and powerful opposition requires faith and steadfast courage. The epistles call it "confidence."

In his Philippian epistle Paul declares his own determination to advance against...

Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. § You did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, “Abba, Father.”I did not say to the seed of Jacob, “Seek Me in vain.” § Therefore … having boldness to enter the Holiest by the...

By the words "to save" we understand the whole of the great work of salvation, from the first holy desire onward to complete sanctification. The words are multum in parro: indeed, here is all mercy in one word. Christ is not only "mighty to save" those who repent, but he is able to make men repent. He will carry those to heaven who believe; but he is, moreover, mighty to give men new hearts and to work faith in them. He is mighty to make the man who hates holiness love it, and to constrain...

Matthew 11:20-30

"Then Jesus began to denounce the cities in which most of his miracles had been performed, because they did not repent." Matthew 11:20

It seems strange to hear Jesus upbraiding. His words usually were most gracious and loving. Here, however, we hear Him speaking in tones of sharpness and severity. Yet the phase of His character which is now...

"We have an anchor of the soul, even hope; and that hope is within the veil, where Jesus is. With Jesus the hope of the believer hath soared from earth and made its home in the heaven of heavens; and the presence of our hope there is the pledge of our own future presence there. How flattering, delusive, treacherous, is earthly hope. What horrid wounds it inflicts upon the heart that it pretends to bless. How it spreads its imitation heaven around, even where deadly miasmas exhale. But when...

For Reading and Meditation:     Proverbs 12:1-8

We continue thinking about the fact that as soon as the psalmist considered the end of the ungodly, everything dropped into focus. Their true position became so clear to him that his language in the rest of the psalm indicates that he not only ceased to be envious of the ungodly but began to be sorry for them. Indeed,...

God pronounces a woe on those who reverse moral standards, making sin respectable and suggesting that purity is something less than desirable. Herbert Vander Lugt cited three contemporary illustrations of how men tamper with moral distinctions. "First, I read an article which treated lightly the bad results of pornography, but deplored the 'puritanical attitude of religionists.' Second, I came across a newspaper account that told about a group of concerned parents who were trying to get an...

Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. § The law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death. § If the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed.Brethren, we are not children of the bondwoman but of the free. § Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law but by faith in Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, that we might be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the law; for by the...